I feel better out there in the wilderness, more connected to the planet and myself which is something I don't feel as deeply in the city - The further away from civilisation the better. It's somewhat of an adrenaline rush sometimes, especially when off-road driving is challenging and dangerous which is often, but it's not just that and nature which attracts me, it's the fact I have to be more self-reliant, better prepared and skilled, and that keeps me learning.
Safety is a strong focus out there, I've seen many people come to grief through inexperience, a poorly prepared vehicle, stupidity and plain old bad luck; sure, I've damaged my vehicles at times but mostly I've had a trouble-free run and I put it down to preparedness, seeking the skills required and to ensuring my vehicles are capable (which they are not when they come out of the new car dealership).
Having said all that, what can make all the different when out there (and things go wrong) whether through stupidity, chance or lack of experience, is a proper tool kit; I mean the proper equipment and the ability to use it. I figured I'd do a short post on the basics (in my opinion) so here goes.
The absolute essentials
- Air compressor and tyre repair kit: This is required because punctures (staking) happens and one needs to reduce tyre pressures to suit the terrain being traversed. The bulk of off-road problems arise from the wrong tyre pressures at the wrong time.
- Recovery gear: Winch, snatch straps, D-shackles and winch blocks, recovery tracks, high-lift jacks and other such items are the bare minimum for off-roaders. I buy the best available because the alternative could mean the loss of a vehicle or huge expense in having to call someone out to extract my vehicle.
- Shovel, axe (and sometimes chainsaw): Digging oneself out of trouble and road-building are inevitable for those going to remote places. Trees fall too, so axes and chainsaws come in handy.
- Navigation and communication: Maps (paper and digital), GPS (SATnav), a compass, UHF and SATphone and a GPS personal location device (EPIRB/PLB) are critical. Breakdowns and getting bogged happens sometimes to the point where self-help won't help and that's when decent communications come into play...and navigation? Well, Australia is big, fucken big, so getting lost and being ill-prepared means death usually; I'd rather call for help than perish.
- Portable power: I have a portable power bank which will jump start my vehicle if needed (and power other things) and I also have two batteries on my vehicle so can jump the cranking battery off the deep-cycle battery if needed as well.
Ok, I said those above are absolutely essential but I also think these are too, you'll see my point as you read.
Also absolutely essential
- First aid kit: I don't mean a box of Panadol and a bandaid, I mean a comprehensive kit and the ability to use it. Further to the general things found in a first aid kit should be sunblock, cold and flu medications, personal medications like insulin, a snake bite kit (it's Australia remember - loads of deadly shit) and other such things.
- Water: I don't think I need to elaborate. Five litres per person per day is the starting point and then an emergency supply also...plus Lifestraws and the ability/skill to find water as well.
- Food: This sounds like a no-brainer but so many are ill-prepared. Enough to survive plus an emergency store is the minimum and it needs to be non-perishable, high energy and protein foods work well as do freeze-dried/dehydrated meals, nuts and stuff like that.
- Shelter: I'm talking about shelter from the sun (fucken hot as fuck in Australia) and the cold as well - Our deserts are hot in the day and bloody cold at night, storms happens, it can snow in places and temperatures can plummet.
- Fire and flares: Fire is life. One must have several ways of making it and at least one of which needs to be wind and waterproof. It's for warmth, cooking, boiling water to clean it and signaling, keeping the animals that might bite away also, but that'll not stop a crocodile ok? I also take flares and chem-lights.
This would be a long list if I added everything I take although some things I don't take on every trip (like a SATphone) depending on where it is. It's important to know what needs to go where, that each item is of good quality and is reliable, robust and that one knows how to use it! An off-road GPS navigation system (not those shit versions they have in cars) can be complicated; waiting until one is lost to work out how to use it is stupid - the same can be said for paper maps and a compass. No point having them if one doesn't know how to use them.
I've only outlined the basics here and could go into detail on each thing in individual posts I guess, but you'd all probably be asleep halfway through the first one. I haven't mentioned so many things (solar charging, torches, hand tools, car parts and spares, making sure GPS software and maps are updated, road/weather information...there's so much more.)
The important thing is having the right things and the ability to use them.
It's also critical to have a pre-trip inspection of everything (first aid kits go out of date, batteries deplete, equipment gets old etc.) and that means the vehicles and a refresher on the individual's skills as well. I suggest a check-list and even after all these years I still do them when doing a pre-trip gear-up. I still forget things, but it's rare.
So that's it I guess. Off-roading isn't at all about drinking a case of beer and driving a four wheel drive through some puddles of mud, it's a serious thing that can (and has) killed people who are stupid, unskilled or ill-prepared. That's not me.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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Image(s) in this post are my own
I love these posts!
The landscapes are wonderful, and the images, like the cover one, are beautiful. But above all, I really enjoy seeing the vehicles (I assume they’re yours) in "different" situations and terrains. And of course, if you accompany it with informative text, it makes for an incredible post.
Whenever you talk about these topics, I read the post with my dad, and he says he thinks the same way as you. The next day, always I see him reading and searching more info about the topic online 😅
I'm glad you like these posts, and that you and your dad read them together. Nice to know.
The vehicles are mine yeah, I have so many images of other people's as well but want to use my own where possible. I've been to some pretty amazing spots, a lot of which is on paper photos because I'm fucken old, but it's also always good to look back on them and reminisce on the experiences.
I find those rugged landscapes beautiful. That kind of expanse can make anyone feel small and it really brings to mind just how insignificant we are in the midst of all that grandeur. Some folks have never seen a night sky in all it's glory, unadulterated by artificial lights and that's unfortunate.
That being said, I know for a fact that I would be woefully unprepared to venture out into such a vast, rugged land. Even though I study and practice preparedness, I am not very skilled in bushcraft. We have poisonous plants and venomous critters around as well as just plain dangerous ones, like gators and caimans. Folks have turned loose their Burmese pythons in the Everglades and they are spreading further north. Those things freak me out a bit lol.
For a lot of people, it goes beyond the fact they're unprepared and you raise an issue many people have, namely the critters. I don't like snakes and spiders, they freak me out, and crocodiles...well, they re calculated killers. There's a way to coexist with them, but the thought of those things, and others, keeps so many people away.
We have a lot of deadly shit down here so some respect must be shown, the wilderness or amazing, but it has to be respected, understood and worked around.
It would be such an adventure to go with you off-roading in Australia even going to the least remote that YOU still call 'off-road and (somewhat) remote'. I love the idea but am too well aware of the dangers and thus - nope, not me. I will continue living these adventures through others' pictures, like yours.
I've taken a few people from time to time and most of them enjoyed it. One couple...well, it rained and blew a gale one night and they hated it...she had the idea it was all going to be like the pages of a glossy magazine, but the reality it wasn't even though I did my best to make it as comfortable for them as possible. I had a laugh later, but it took all my strength not to throttle them to death and bury them somewhere at the time. Ok, not really, but it was unpleasant for me too, bloody whingers they were!
Hahaha, that must have been an experience. I hope no friendships were broken over it… Bad weather can make you really, really uncomfortable but - what can you do about it? It’s nature. You have to make the best of it. Whining isn’t going to help anyone.
Nah, no friendships suffered, I was all very gracious about it and tried to make them have the best time possible, but it certainly fucked up my own trip. Lol.
Glad to hear it! The friendship bit I mean not your effed up trip. I'm sure you made up for it another time.
Yeah, I definitely did ..and learned a good lesson, don't bring city slickers to the outback! 🥴
Tropical nature is so beautiful to look at 😍
It certainly is, and it's much nicer to be out there amongst it.
I don't mean this as a criticism, but how do you think about the direct effect have on your environment when you're off-roading? I've been off-roading a couple of times with an experienced crew and loved it, but I imagine you might be going to places that maybe no one has ever gone before? Driving through streams has to change them somewhat, covering long distances might cross-contaminate dirt, seeds or bugs or whatever.
It's probably a silly question because humans have such a massive unbelievable affect on the world but if you're pristine places but leaving your own tire tracks is that something people think about?
Also, I don't think I've actually ever seen a snake in the wild... but I'm glad you're prepared.
I drive on tracks, not the bush, and I leave the areas I go to better than I left them meaning I take away other people's rubbish if required. I take my own fire wood and don't put plastics in the fire. I don't do waste water (I have a grey water tank), and if I have to road build I make it right before leaving. Other stuff as well.
But you said it well, the off roading I do is of no consequence when compared with what most humans do...flicking cigarette butts and rubbish all over the place, overusing fossile fuels, general wastefulness, consumerism, new phones every year, use of chemicals...the list is long.
Ah, that's all extremely awesome! I wasn't sure how much you'd think about it... but it sounds like you think about it a lot. I appreciate that... even though humans are messing up so much of the planet, if we can try to keep our exposure to pristine areas as minimal as possible, I'd like to think most of us should try.
We didn't inherit this world, we're looking after it for our ancestors.
Most people here do the right thing when they're out there although there's always a few bad eggs I guess, people who gather fire wood which destroys the places little creatures live, or who don't air down tyres which tears tracks up and, of course, those who litter.
I remember watching a Big Time video on Youtube about what one needs to have on hand just for a track day when testing a rebuilt drift car. There was quite an array of tools and parts, plus water, food, and first aid. And that's with help close to hand and good cell signal. Going into the wilderness is not to be taken lightly, and around here, people take Jeeps straight from the showroom to the woods and get themselves in big trouble every summer.
Yep, I get it and so many people do what you said, take stock vehicles out to places they should not and without any skills whatsoever. They're the ones that come to grief usually, cause damage to the environment and themselves. Not smart.
How true. Both things are important, the things and the ability to use them. I prefer to be prepared, if I don't feel confident I might as well not do it. I think knowledge and being prepared is everything and not just for going out in the wilderness but it applies to life.
Every day I see more and more people doing... stupid things and it causes them bad things.
People are stupid, there's no doubt about it.
And there are too many of those people...
The wilderness is not for me but it's nice to look at the photos with a cup of coffee and the heating on.
Yeah, not everything is for everyone.
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